GRAPEVINE, Tex., ? For months, Antonio Margarito talked about how his fight Saturday against Manny Pacquiao would help restore his reputation. Instead, his sullied reputation took another hit this week.
A video surfaced on numerous Web sites Wednesday that showed Margarito and Brandon Rios, a training partner and a fighter on the undercard here, mocking Pacquiao?s trainer, Freddie Roach. In the video, Margarito?s trainer, Robert Garcia, is shown laughing at their imitation.
On Thursday, all three scrambled to apologize to varying degrees. Garcia said the fighters did not know that Roach has Parkinson?s disease when they mimicked him by shaking their hands and head, which Roach found inconceivable.
Margarito offered a lengthy explanation, then apologized for anything he might have done wrong. Rios took the most direct responsibility.
At breakfast Thursday morning at his hotel, Roach said he did not sleep well and doubled his Parkinson?s medication to fight the body tremors that result from the disease. But he also said repeatedly he had moved on.
Later, Roach said he received a call from Garcia, who apologized, and Roach said he felt the apology was sincere. Whether the video will motivate Pacquiao in their fight for the World Boxing Council?s junior middleweight title remains to be seen, but surely, it was not the smartest strategy.
Margarito is no stranger to controversy. He was caught with illegal hand wraps in a fight against Shane Mosley and temporarily banned from boxing. In a recent episode of ?24-7,? the HBO show previewing this fight, Margarito laughed as someone pretended to tape a large slab of concrete on his hands. He has not shown remorse for that.
The fighters will meet Saturday night in Texas Stadium.
